And Chris Bosh was indeed our last franchise player. He earned it by being far-and-away the best player on the team in every one of his 7 years, becoming the franchise leader in points and rebounds. The team's overall lack of success during his tenure was a result/reflection of the always revolving carousel of new, lesser skilled/talented teammates the team's management surrounded him with every year, year after year.

Last edited by James Ballswin (Realizar); Sun Jul 11th, 2010 at 04:52 AM.

And Chris Bosh was indeed our last franchise player. He earned it by being far-and-away the best player on the team in every one of his 7 years, becoming the franchise leader in points and rebounds. The team's overall lack of success during his tenure was a result/reflection of the always revolving carousel of new, lesser skilled/talented teammates the team's management surrounded him with every year, year after year.

Colangelo has always built this team around Bosh, those saying he didn't deserve to be called our franchise player is ridiculous.. Also stated, our best player in franchise history in numerous stats, get over Bosh being gone, he did all he could for us and now he's moved on.

Bargnani is 24, he's been in the NBA for a few years and he isn't anywhere near anyone drafted first overall is expected to be, though he is getting better.. We can't go back and get someone else, blame it on the Raptor scouting staff. We have to work with what we have, and Andrea Bargnani is still getting better.. I thought he had a really good season last year, and I think it only leads to future improvement from him.. He'll never be a leader to me, but a guy who scores 20-25 a game, hopefully his rebounding goes up to 8 per game eventually, 10 is a little much to ask right now.. That's a solid player, and the way his stats have been improving year by year, not a stretch by any means.

As Charles Barkley stated during a recent Blue Jays Game.. Raptor scouting has sucked, if we're not going to be doing so well these next few years.. Maybe we have to strengthen that as soon as we can.. I liked the Jays route on things, I think a lot of people are losing faith in Colangelo and I'm just a little ways behind them, and this off-season is his last chance to prove himself, if it doesn't work out, we search for a new GM, and make sure we get our priorities in check with scouting and our coaching staff and such.

And Chris Bosh was indeed our last franchise player. He earned it by being far-and-away the best player on the team in every one of his 7 years, becoming the franchise leader in points and rebounds. The team's overall lack of success during his tenure was a result/reflection of the always revolving carousel of new, lesser skilled/talented teammates the team's management surrounded him with every year, year after year.

bargs is the best player on the raptors lineup by far...therefore, he must be the franchise now, right?

Bargnani is our best player now, I am sure he will struggle a while as the opposite defense will focus on him more, but I am looking forward to see Bargs improving on playing double teamed ... let the fan begin. Oppsss ... BC still moving parts around

It's Time For BARGNANI To Step Up!

If you have a minute to read, bare with me here:

In 2006 when Andrea Bargnani became the first European to be drafted 1st overall, nobody was truly sure of what to expect from him. His impressive skill set for a player of his size was obviously what got him noticed while playing for Benetton Treviso in Italy.

Following the 1998 NBA Draft, the eight NBA teams that passed up on Europe's most talented player, Dirk Nowitzki, were soon to be tantalized by his extraordinary skills for a 7-footer. Toronto was one of those teams, but they felt well compensated by the draft as their highlight reel machine Vince Carter was blossoming into a superstar.

Nowitzki set the ceiling for a skilled, perimeter oriented big man. Thus it was no surprise that Andrea Bargnani was dubbed "the next Dirk" when he entered the league. This of course was a complete exaggeration, similar to players who have been ridiculously dubbed "the next Michael Jordan." These comparisons stem from a general curiosity of how well a player will play at the NBA level, which is of course extremely difficult to predict. Everyone becomes their own type of player once they establish themselves in the league. The question should be - how long does one take to establish himself? Because after that, other players begin getting compared to you.

It has been well documented that "big men take longer to develop." As a result the management group, coaching staff and fans have all been very patient with Andrea. We've seen different dimensions added to his game each year (which is a tribute to his hard work). Over his four year career we've seen him transform from a strictly 3-point shooting big man to a multidimensional (shoot/drive&finish/pull up) offensive threat, with a new-found shot blocking mentality. He always lacked the ability to consistently rebound and help-defend. However with Colangelo's latest moves, it seems as though the 2010-2011 roster finally compliments Bargnani's weaknesses.

With the Raptors beginning a new era without Vince Carter or Chris Bosh, the inevitable question becomes: can Andrea Bargnani become a franchise player? If not, then can he at least be a legitimate #1 option on offense, and a consistent anchor on defense.

With that being said, 2010-2011 will be the season of opportunity for him. The team and city have never before relied on Andrea this much. He knows it too. And he's had 4 solid seasons to develop and prepare for it. So it will be a test of his character and a true showing of his potential. We all know he isn't "the next Dirk" but perhaps this year he'll find a way to make a name for himself, and one day down the road we'll hear scouts calling another talented young 7-footer "the next Bargnani."

I think Andrea will surprise alot of people next season....he will make mistakes for sure, but i think he will be our number 1 guy offensively and i can see him being a 20 and 7 kind of guy with a couple of assists and a block......he's gotta challenge himself to take as few 3 pointers as he can though.....its an excellent weapon but it should not define his game...

I think what will define Bargnani's ability to develop into a franchise player is whether he can finally grasp NBA weak side and help defense and exert consistently high effort and focus. These two things would allow him to fill the holes in his game and for his offensive positives to finally outweigh what he gives back on the other end. Right now when he's guarding his man off the ball he drifts instead of trying to anticipate the play and adjust to it. Because of this he's slow to react to plays as they develop and the NBA game is played too fast for that. On the offensive end, he's still very streaky and again lacks consistency in effort and output. It could come with time, with coaching, with years of losing and finally having enough, you never know. But being consistently effective on both ends of the floor would put him in reach of being a franchise player.

I agree that this is Bargs time but i dont think he has to do much else to his offensive game. Any given night, now that Bosh is gone, Andrea could go off for 20-25 points if not more because of the more shots he gets to take. Granted a few more post moves and 1 on 1 moves would help but he is a good passer when he gets in trouble so not really needed. If anything defines his development this year it would be his overall defensive abilities. His shot blocking is definitely coming along nicely. Rebounding is always an issue but he usually was around the perimeter when CB4 cleaned up, it all depends on the system Triano implements and if Bargnani would be in a position to grab 7-10 rebs a game. If he starts to use is speed and size to his advantage he could keep big men frustrated and out of the paint hopefully. I guess we will have to wait for the season.

I agree that this is Bargs time but i dont think he has to do much else to his offensive game. Any given night, now that Bosh is gone, Andrea could go off for 20-25 points if not more because of the more shots he gets to take. Granted a few more post moves and 1 on 1 moves would help but he is a good passer when he gets in trouble so not really needed. If anything defines his development this year it would be his overall defensive abilities. His shot blocking is definitely coming along nicely. Rebounding is always an issue but he usually was around the perimeter when CB4 cleaned up, it all depends on the system Triano implements and if Bargnani would be in a position to grab 7-10 rebs a game. If he starts to use is speed and size to his advantage he could keep big men frustrated and out of the paint hopefully. I guess we will have to wait for the season.

Its not so simple. If he takes on the first option responsibility teams will pay more attention (double team possibility). He'll have to mixup his game and inherent in both instances is the danger of a lower percentage of shots dropping. Say what you will of CB but his presence allowed Bargs to score more freely.

What's With All The Delusional Bargnani Fanboys?

I'm seriously getting fed up with this s***. It's one thing to cheer, admire and worship a guy that's obviously got the potential (eg. Bargs in first year when we didn't know much about him) but after this season he's at best a 4-stringer on a team. Are you people blind, or Italian and feel compelled to big up your countryman? Sure he'll do even better this year because he's the only 1 this sad team has, but don't fool yourselves into thinking he's anywhere near Bosh's level. Shooting 3 pointers and taking days off when it's your time to shine isn't what future stars are made of. Every single time Bosh wasn't on the court Bargs had an opportunity to show what he's capable of but instead he ran away with his tail between his legs.

dont like bargnani's game either and I am of the feeling that teams need traditional bigs that rebound, defend, and block shots however im going to play devils advocate and say bargnani has improved every season excluding his rookie to 2nd year when JO was starting and for the numbers he puts up 17 points, 6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks a game (career year and he's 24) so he won't hit his prime for another 3- 4 seasons where we have to expect him to be putting up 20 10 and 2 by that time for 9 million a season ill take it.

Granted he'll improve for another 2-3 years but he's not going to be making any big leaps, especially in rebounding (you honestly think he'll go from barely 7 rebounds to 10?? yikes!). The guy had plenty of opportunities to step up and show everyone what he's capable of but other than 1 or 2 games he hasn't done anything, especially when CB4 went out and we were chasing that 8th seed. Where was he then? The real stars in this league thrive in situations like that, but he folded.